Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX concluded the previously announced sale of its onshore California properties for $592 million in cash, before closing adjustments to Sentinel Peak Resources California.

Per the agreement, Freeport will receive an additional $50 million per year in 2018, 2019 and 2020, if Brent crude oil price averages $70 per barrel or more in those calendar years.

Following the completion of this transaction, Freeport’s portfolio of oil and gas assets include oil and natural gas production onshore in South Louisiana and on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Shelf, oil production offshore California and natural gas production from the Madden area in Central Wyoming.

Last month, Freemont also completed the sale of its Deepwater Gulf of Mexico properties to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC for $2 billion in cash, before closing adjustments. The company concluded asset sale transactions worth $6.6 billion in 2016. It has an industry leading portfolio of long-lived copper assets of high quality.

Shares of Freemont closed almost 2.2% lower at $13.19 on Dec 30.

FREEPT MC COP-B Price

FREEPT MC COP-B Price | FREEPT MC COP-B Quote

Freeport has outperformed the Zacks categorized ‘Mining-Non Ferrous’ industry in the past three months. The company’s shares have added around 23.4% in this period, compared with a 4.8% gain recorded by the industry.

Freeport is taking actions to manage costs and capital spending amid a challenging operating environment. Further, the company remains focused on deleveraging its balance sheet, partly through assets sale. It is also conducting exploration activities near its existing mines, with a focus on opportunities to augment future production capacity.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Freeport carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked companies in the basic materials space include Denison Mines Corp. DNN and Vale S.A. VALE, both holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Denison Mines posted a positive earnings surprise of 100% in the last reported quarter.

Vale has a long-term expected growth rate of 22.4%.

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